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I don't like this anime. At its best it barely avoids being bad. More thoughts below...

Spoiler for Length:

I really don’t want to do this. Look, before I continue any further I need you to understand where I’m coming from. I have a weakness for moelodramatic anime, from the iconic Angel Beats! and Clannad to the obscure Sola and U.F.O. no Natsu. If these kind of shows aren’t your thing it’s likely you would avoid Kokoro Connect as well. That’s fine. But this is directed at everyone who has an overall positive track record with these kind of anime and want their heartstrings pulled again. Though if my words weren’t enough indication, I don’t like this anime.

Granted, it starts harmlessly enough. We’re introduced to a group of high school students going about their lives when they find themselves walking in each other’s shoes. After all, they’re switching bodies with each other at random points and frequently at inopportune times. They call each other if possible during a switch and fill them in on what’s happening, sometimes being inconsequential, other times becoming too close for comfort. Through this body switching, and other supernatural phenomena, we learn a lot about the characters. We learn their insecurities, their pasts, their embarrassments, their fears, their feelings for each other. They don’t overcome themselves very easily, but there’s so much about them—the good –and- the bad—that we learn that it’s hard not to feel for them. It’s a good thing Kokoro Connect has a solid cast of characters, because with the story the way it is, they’re going to carry this anime.

So as the characters are trying to deal with the body switching, we’re introduced to what is quite possibly the biggest slap in the face to every fan of moelodramatic anime ever: Heartseed. It turns out he’s the one behind the characters switching bodies with each other and the other supernatural phenomena happening to them. Heartseed says this is some kind of experiment, and throughout the show—especially when things seem to be going well for our characters—he interjects himself and causes them more grief. He then says something along the lines of this experiment being successful in connecting their hearts together. This process is repeated a few times throughout the show.

Heartseed, for all intents and purposes, is the story element of moelodramatic anime becoming a character and outright telling us what we can expect. The experiment he conducts is the drama, the way he interjects himself is the same as things suddenly taking a turn for the worse, and the experiment being successful in connecting their hearts together is the moment when we’re supposed to realize that our heartstrings have been pulled. I say “supposed to” because the introduction of Heartseed is doing that instead, and with a name that plays off the term “heartstrings,” it’s like the show is telling us “we’re going to start making you like the characters a lot now.”

And quite frankly, it’s insulting. I like moelodramatic anime because even though I know my heartstrings are going to be pulled, I never know when it happens. Sure, I –realize- at some point that I like the characters a lot more than I thought I would or did, but I never know –when- I forgot I was watching an anime and started feeling genuinely enamored toward the characters. Never knowing when I –really- start to feel for these characters is its own reward that lets me indentify with them in the same way that they never know when they started falling in love, for example. Combined with everything else the show is spelling out for us, from explaining the premise of the drama to interjecting itself instead of tragedy happening naturally, and it kills the immersion for the story. Sure, all of these clichés are something you can see in a moelodramatic anime in hindsight, but the thing about Kokoro Connect is that you’re not seeing them in hindsight but –as they happen-, and it tells you –that they happen-.

Some of you might ask if that’s the entire point of Heartseed existing. That he’s supposed to troll the audience with his exposition. No, I –do- understand the point of Heartseed. I understand that he’s a sign of the writers not being confident in how well they can write a moelodramatic anime. I understand that he’s a sign of the writers thinking the audience needs everything spelled out for them. I understand that he’s a sign that they don’t know the difference between a well-written antagonist and an antagonist that’s hated for all of the wrong reasons.

Overall, I can’t really recommend Kokoro Connect to anyone because of how insulting, self-explained, and self-referential the story is. Even if you’re a fan of moelodramatic anime—no, -especially- if you’re a fan of moelodramatic anime—it’s all the more reason to avoid this show. If you’re still intent on watching it and don’t mind the story literally telling you everything, you might be able to find some salvation in the solid cast of characters because they’re really carrying this show. But even at its best and with the most praise I can possibly give, Kokoro Connect’s severe imbalance of good characters and poor story –barely- prop up the overall show to avoid being bad. Otherwise, this is one moelodramatic anime you won’t be Connecting your Heart to.

Some of you might ask if that’s the entire point of Heartseed existing. That he’s supposed to troll the audience with his exposition. No, I –do- understand the point of Heartseed. I understand that he’s a sign of the writers not being confident in how well they can write a moelodramatic anime. I understand that he’s a sign of the writers thinking the audience needs everything spelled out for them. I understand that he’s a sign that they don’t know the difference between a well-written antagonist and an antagonist that’s hated for all of the wrong reasons.

I would argue that being a "good troll" doesn't work if you lack confidence, or don't understand either the audience or what you're doing. If I were the author, seeing your review, what you expected, what you got, and how you reacted... I honestly think my reaction would be: "victory!" The author knows full-well they're manipulating you in the most blatant way possible (it's the theme of the show!), you try to allow yourself to be manipulated naturally (because that's what humans do; they can't help it), realize it's obvious and blatant (which is by design!), but then still get mad at the author, as if they suck for not manipulating you properly. Who are the real puppets here? That's really the whole point of the show.

Clearly, I'm not saying you have to enjoy it. In fact, given your expectations/desires, your lack of enjoyment was to be expected. It's not unfair to suggest that others with similar expectations may find those expectations disappointed, which was still your overall point. But I do think it helps to take a step further back and analyse your own reaction to start to understand the deeper meaning behind the story. If it existed for no other reason than as a mirror for our own proclivity to be emotionally manipulated even by the most blatant and obvious of instruments, then the author communicated successfully... but just wasn't saying exactly what you thought they were trying to say.

The problem is, if this show was supposed to be some kind of jab at fans of Da Capo, Angel Beats!, ect., the storytelling is so blatant but the characters are so sincere it's like the show suffered an identity crisis. Maybe the characters can be more disrespectful next time a series like this comes up so it's clear it's making fun of us.

It's like two gears smoothly moving each other and drastically changing the tooth size of one gear without changing the tooth size of the other gear; it doesn't change the function, it just kinda makes it stop.

The problem is, if this show was supposed to be some kind of jab at fans of Da Capo, Angel Beats!, ect., the storytelling is so blatant but the characters are so sincere it's like the show suffered an identity crisis. Maybe the characters can be more disrespectful next time a series like this comes up so it's clear it's making fun of us.

I wouldn't say that it's making fun of anyone, but I also think this terribly odd dichotomy is the point. Really "human" characters that make us feel for them, really "artificial" plot devices that manipulate us as blatantly as possible. We know exactly what's going on, but somehow we still feel for the people anyway, just like the character in the show can do nothing but be pushed around by the circumstances they face.

It's basically exposing our feeling for what they are in their most raw form: reactions to stimuli. It's twisted, but I also find it pretty fascinating, even as (especially as?) someone who loves the Da Capo/Angel Beats/etc. of the world.